Since most have trucks, bedliner question

[Jeff_G]

I'm looking at a permanent spray on type bed liner for my truck. Any experience with the Line-X, Rhino or how about the do it yourself, Herculiner, Perma-Tech, Duplicolor?
Any and all comments appreciated. Thanks

[ShorePounder]

We put a Rhino-liner in our newest truck at work. I'm very impressed with it. Lifetime warranty, professional application, durable and looks it. Spendy though. I think it was around 3 or 4 hundred dollars for the bed and the side rails and tailgate.

one things for sure. Unlike plastic bedliners, if you put something down in the bed, it stays exactly where you put it unless it can roll. Sure beats having something sliding around every time you stop,start or turn corners.

It's a thick, rubbery coating that I don't think you can get out of a can of the DIY stuff. But I don't know that for a fact as I haven't seen the DIY stuff.

[Raceman]

Jeff, I've got a tennant in one of my commercial buildings that does spray ons to the tune of half a dozen or so every day. If you want to waste a long distance call I think he'd point you in the right direction. There's not a Rhino franchisee in town now and he's got a huge market share. I don't know what brand product he uses, but he's changed within the last year and thinks what he has now is far superior to anything else on the market. One thing he brags about on the current product is that it doesn't turn flat after it sits in the sun for a while like some of the other brands. His number is 478 750-7100 and his name is Jason. You'll need to talk to him for technical advice.

[95stv'er]

spray in bedliners are a polyurethane that dries to a rubber like form . spray in bedliners are not the holy grail of liners though..........
before spraying the material down the applicator must sand your oem finish with sandpaper and they do sand through everytime all over , its the nature of the beast. another thing that happens is that over time youll see the edges begin to delaminate but even more so if you damage the liner .......the spray in liners do not protect your truck from dents either . if yourvehicle is ever in an accident and any part of the rear bed needs to be refinished, the liner must be peeled back ( very easy to do) to do a proper refinishing job so the paint will not delaminate over time . then the bed liner must be done all over again getting even dumber looking. above i mentioned that the beds finish must be sanded before application and that compromices the rust protection so if you damage the liner at all and moisture gets under the liner, you can see what could happen.
plastic liners protect from dents way better but they do slide around and scratch and the cargo slides on em as well.
in my opinion i would not use anything but a rubber bed mat ! still the easiest thing out there !!!!

[Raceman]

95, I shared some of your thoughts on the spray ins until the guy moved in my building and started doing em. It's true that they do require major sanding of the painted surface for proper adhesion, but in all of em that he does, I've yet to see delamination problems. As far as the dent protection, with about 1/4 inch of liner sprayed on the bed, it takes a massive blow to dent through it into the metal and such an impact likely dents metal under a slip in liner also. He also gets several a month in from body shops that have had various body repairs. There are a couple of ways that he fixes em now. The liners are difficult to skin completely off and it takes em a couple of hours to get one out that was properly installed. Until recently, they were doing this on all of em, saying that spray overs were unsatisfactory. He's recently developed a primer process, using a mfg'rs product in conjuction with his own process that he says produce excellent results without having to remove an entire liner.

The only weakness I've seen in the system is on a couple of rusty vehicles that had holes in the truck floors that allowed moisture to come up from the bottom and get between rusty metal and the liner. As the rust does whatever rust does with moisture added, a delamination process occurs in that area. They've started grinding clean and fiberglassing any such holes before they'll spray one now, but it's still a band aid fix at best, because in time fiberglass/rust/metal don't mix either.

After seeing the results of hundreds of liners sprayed in this shop, I've changed my mind from not wanting one in my truck, to not having anything else. Just like in most anything, there are different processes and products for obtaining similar results and the most important thing is to seek a quality installer that's using the latest, state of the art materials.

[tdogcarter]

Had a Rhino Liner, about 6 years ago, and now have the new Hot spray in liner.
The Rhinos use a cold spray process, and did see some delamination occuring, where I had some gouges in the material.
I would not recommend any of the cold process liners.

Now if you get the newer ones, that use the heat applyed material, these work much better, have had mine since 2000, and it works great. Very hard to dent, and it does not gouge like the other one.

Drop in bed liners suck, unless you like taking them out, washing under the liner, and washing out the liner. You get water, and salt underneath the drop in liner, and you leave it there long enough, and your going to have a hole in your bed. They don't help in dents at all, and when you do put something heavy in there, the liner is going to look like shiznit it will smash the ribs. There not worth the $150 + for them. Spend the $400 and get one that will work.

Rubber mats work very similar to the spray in bed liner, but they don't protect the sides, and above the rails.

Also on the spray in bed liners, and the plastic, things in the plastic will actually slide around more, then on a standard bed. The material I have, actually will keep things in place, better than a rubber mat.

Trey

[LakeTrash]

I had Rino put in my 2002 Ford the day after I bought it. This is my third one with Rino and I love it. Never had any problem with any of them.

If your truck is just a grocery getter, it is not required. But if you are really going to use it, spend the $400.

LT

[KeninSC]

Jeff,
I had a Rhino installed on my truck back in Nov,98. It has done a great job for me. Like Pounder stated, junk thrown in the back stays where you put it, no sliding. I just use mine for personal stuff though. Western Carolina Sewer Authority had Line-X's installed in their service trucks around the same time. The Line-X's were about 20% cheaper then. If you wish I can give a buddy over at WCSA a call and see how their's are holding up, hauling pumps, valves, pump motors, etc.

Ken Eubanks

[sho305]

I have only seen a rhino, and another from CA I don't know the name. I like them the best. A liner rattles around in there and wears off the paint anyway. Most I know use a mat on a liner to keep stuff from flying, though some of the new liners are sticky-er. I would go with a rino or similiar. I talked to a rhino guy who said he was doing roofs on houses with the stuff now! He said he can make it in about any color.

And if your bed is rusting thru from the bottom, who cares your truck is trashed anyway...might as well toss a liner in. Often you can get them here cheap from dealers who pull them out of trade-ins. I use one in the fall to haul leaves out of the yard with my cart, I get a truck full every trip... However, I would never get a liner that goes over the rails. It really tears it up. Get separate guards for the rails that attach well and are not metal to metal contact. I use two sided foam trim tape.

A big problem is that dirt gets under the liner(not rhino) and plugs the drains. This rusts it out bad as it will stay wet. Highly recommend washing it out every year or so, and trying to seal places some that fit loose and get water in there a lot. I have also used strips of padding under them for less wear. I used the stuff you put under a wall on top of a house foundation, every couple foot or so.

That is the nice part of a rhino; no screws or rubbing to break the original paint/primer/plating metal protection. If they are good, they will not sand thru to metal. It is not easy to do though and even so the rhino is very protective and not open to air. If you are going to trash the rhino, use a mat or liner on top of it.

[AnthonySS]

Been Using a Pendaliner in my K1500 for over 10 years with No Problems.

...like most say...pull it out once a year, and make sure your drain holes are not plugged.

My only complaint is the ribs are tuff on my knees

I not sure about you guys but a I have too use the brakes on my truck...so I am not sure how you can say stuff does not move around...??I think anytime you load the back of your bed...it makes good sence to use tie downs or load-it so it can't move or come flying through the cab window

[halveb]

I put a Rhino in my 2002 F-150 within a week of getting the truck. So far so good. Anthony, those Rhino liners stick so much that things just don't slide even when applying brakes. If the item is tall it is more likely to tip over then it is to move. It actually makes it difficult to load sometimes since you really can't slide stuff into the bed.

I agree the spray in types are the best. Hot or cold I don't know but I'll let you know in nine more years how the Rhino help up.

[AnthonySS]

You know the stuff I haul around...other then Boat Stuff...

YES I really like the slide in ability of the Penda...especially loading Large Bag End Speakers and then My precious Cargo like them "Tubey and Stringed" things... I like so Much!!

I Just Get in the Habit of tying the stuff down regardless cause most of my stuff is also on casters!!!

[Flat Out]

Have a GM thick rubber mat in mine since new. If you lift it up the bed looks like the day I got the truck. I have a Putco stainless tailgate cover as well. I did not screw it in place but used 3M 2 sided tape. The GM mat and the Putco stainless were not the cheapest thinge but they have held up well. Another alternative might be one of the Bedrugs.
I usually remove the mat once every month of so and wash and dry the bed.
I also have a Lowrider fiberglass tonneau cover on the truck as well. This keeps the bed pretty clean and allows me to lock everything up.
Once new a guy whose truck bed was custom lined with aluminun checker plate.